Mechanical Tyranny: FrankenRush
by TealDragonsUnite
Summary: An error has occurred - total system shutdown imminent. (Multi-crossover; Set in the IRII universe - see DreamFluent's "Industrial Revolution II" for further information.)
1. Chapter 1

Age was catching up to him, Rush had to admit. Weekly diagnostics checks were making him more and more wary of the inevitable- a sort of death. An end, but not in the way that could not be reversed… and perhaps that was what scared him the most. In a way, he welcomed the idea of shutting down. There would be no more nightmares to plague his thoughts, no more sorrow at the loss of friends and comrades -in battle or otherwise. In another way he dreaded it. He knew how much the deaths of those he'd cared about in the past tormented him. Would others miss him as much as he had his former brethren? Shaking off the thought, he continued through the day, holding his nose high with a fierce glare in his eye. To anyone outwardly, he would have looked as his usual self.

Only perhaps Neko could see what was happening. Rush had discovered that his true self had become so blatant -that he'd become so 'human' in nature and soul - that the dragon could hear his thoughts like a chime on a silent day. Then again, he thought, his systems' status were not quite the main focus as of late. It was true that they'd come up in thoughts many times, but Rush's constant influx of information and calculations were more than could be defined by a single main thought. While he contemplated this, he'd also noticed how Streak held himself today - a more tired look to his lithe form. The dragon had been lacking on sleep, but never told Rush why… it was a possibility that Neko had told the other dragon of the perils Rush was soon going to face.

A segment of blank thought entered Rush's head, clear of anything. No information input or export… nothing. It was a bit like static in a radio signal, but only for a second. Yet another of the warning signs of Rush's health and well-being. As soon as it passed, the Corsair closed his eyes and ran a quick diagnostics check once again. Nothing too major yet, but the minorities of the problem were grouping… and Rush knew they were going to become more frequent. To most, it might be alarming, but no sense of fear was showing itself. Yet.

The Corsair's creator, Felix, flashed through his mind. If he notified the car of his status, perhaps there'd be a way to reverse or at least slow the effects of aging. The facts were undeniable, however - though his programming was untouched, his body was breaking down. The pieces and parts that held him together and the many systems that made life possible were deteriorating. If Rush didn't get help from a seasoned mechanic in AI soon… there was no telling how fast these anomalies of nothingness would shut down his computer entirely.

It was only a few days later when Rush found himself incapable of taxiing out of the hangar upon waking. Streak had panicked at the event and called Dottie, who checked the Corsair into a hospital in Rochester. Rush knew that the repairs he required were beyond the point that even perhaps Felix could fix him. Every time he blinked he feared his computers would cease to work; freezing forevermore.

Streak and Neko stayed with him through the hours, only being shooed out when a mechanic came in to further examine the damage, and stall it if possible. Each time the reports came back even more bleak than the last, and Rush knew his time was very near over… yet fear did not set in. It was more a sense of calmness that did, and it was unnerving. As his systems continued to deteriorate, more and more of the emotions he seemed to obtain were slipping away. His very consciousness and sentience were fading, and it was unnerving he could not fear it. He was fighting every second just to feel like he was still something… or someone.

The confines of the hospital were not helping his case. After about five minutes of the 'static', as he'd come to know the white noise that cancelled all thoughts, he'd decided he'd had enough. He'd live out the rest of his life in somewhere he felt comfortable in… his own hangar. Perhaps there he could grasp onto sentience long enough to say goodbye. The mechanics working on preserving him were hesitant to see him go, but even they could not deny the fact he was so close to full system failure.

It was the next night when he awoke in pain. Beforehand nothing had _felt_ wrong physically, but now? Now there was a feeling of burning, and not just under his hood. A quick scan revealed that _it_ was happening. In less than two hours Rush didn't doubt he'd be gone. Or, rather, his emotions would be gone. He may still be sentient, but he'd not be much more than a vegetable. Less than five hours and even that'd be gone… less than twelve and every system would be shut down. His very essence -his programming- would be preserved, but his body? There would be no recovery from any of it. His circuits would be fried and computer dead to the world.

Streak was sleeping peacefully for once, the flicking of his ears the only sign that he was even somewhat alert to the world around him: this was the deepest of sleep a dragon could obtain, it seemed.

With a whisper, Streak startled awake, making Neko topple from the ice dragon's shoulders and onto the floor. Both dragons instantly realized what was going on just by the smell of the place. It was putrid -like a sick dragon's breath, full of smoke and illness. Streak climbed up and clung to Rush's nose fiercely, begging Rush not to go. In less dire times, the Corsair might have chuckled, but now he didn't have the capability to do so. Emotion was slipping from his grasp: the only thing he could feel currently was the pain as his systems began to shut down and the love he had for his companion… his brother. A few whispered exchanges were all Rush could manage before he felt something click off. His computers began to assess the situation. Memories were all he was working off now. He knew Streak cared for him, and yet… yet he couldn't seem to care about the dragon in return.

They were friends, but friends were simply an algorithmic event that one could get used to, then miss if they were torn away from you, be it by death or life. It wasn't true when he said he didn't care about Streak -he did care, but not in the way he felt he had once, somehow. Emotion eluded him, and he decided it was better left alone in the outer reaches of his current understanding. Rush was reminded of the plans he'd made for when he finally shut down and told Streak of them. There were many in Propwash who would take the dragons into their homes.

When he was done with that, he allowed himself to block visual contact, and appeared to fall into unconsciousness to the two dragons watching him. Instincts welled up inside of the Corsair, causing him to try to prolong life… to prolong sentience. But even that, his computers told him, would be taken from him before he'd be cast into oblivion. A few hours flew by and Rush was at the last of his resource reserves in preventing further deterioration of his systems. For a split second he opened his ears to the outside world to hear the cry of despair Streak had wailed out for the world. Shutting all auditory contact off without telling his computers to do so, he braced for his self consciousness to fade.

It was more like a violent click before a black nothing.

xXx

By the time Rush's sentience had been terminated, Streak's tears had run dry. He was draped over the now lifeless body of his friend as a sense of numbness washed over him. Neko had informed him hours ago that he could no longer hear Rush's thoughts, and to Streak Rush had been gone since then. He didn't have the strength to lift a claw to tell anyone, but also felt as if he couldn't bear to grieve alone. The Skipper had to know, and so did Tera and Clara… and Dottie and Sparky and Chug… and Dusty. Everyone had to know of Rush's fate, and yet…

Streak suddenly realized he had to tell one car over all others. A new energy and hope rose up into his soul and he jumped up, startling Neko. The dragon flew to the other side of the room, where the telephone sat untouched by anyone.

Gripping the phone in his claws, he dialed the one person who could fix what had happened.

The other end rang.


	2. Chapter 2

Felix was on the road… yet again. While he had many places in the country he frequented, Propwash being one of them, he didn't like staying in one place for too long. It was too dangerous in his method of thinking… it was paranoia that kept him moving. It's what kept him off of airplanes in general, for the most part, but also the fact that long-distance driving was rather relaxing. While he could never take his mind off of anything, it gave him a sense of freedom he couldn't have anywhere else. Well… not since he was human, anyways. He tried not to think about it, but it was a fact of life that was always there. That, and that his 'family' of sorts was split up, both biological siblings and the inventions he'd built long ago. He only kept in contact with a couple of them, and while he had no idea where his siblings or parents were, it was good enough to just have his AI friends… even if most of them didn't necessarily trust him. The ones that knew they were AI, anyways… though he wasn't quite sure which ones he told and which ones he didn't, with the exception of Rush, who he knew for a fact knew he was AI. It was a true advantage, really… he knew they didn't want AI knowing what it truly was, but if anything it was just a ploy to keep them under control. He liked to think, anyways. He didn't quite know for sure. He tried to stay on highways that kept him connected to phone service, though… one never knew when something could go wrong. That, and he had no idea if phone service even COULD go out. He'd heard of it happening before, even if it sounded like an ancient problem to be having. Oh, well. Paranoia never rests.

As if by fate, his phone started ringing. The display blocked part of his vision as it lit up, and he pulled over. The highway was empty otherwise, though. Checking the number, he realized it was Rush. He hadn't heard from the plane lately, which was rather odd. Normally he'd get a call or something every now and then, just to check in and catch up… at one point, Streak had even prank-dialed him a couple times, just for the fun of it. He didn't mind much, though. If anything, it was hilarious. But over the last few months? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He'd been considering calling him just to make sure everything was okay, but he also remembered that most of his creations didn't trust him much. That, and they could handle most problems on their own. He wasn't their father. He didn't think of it like that, anyways. He'd given them life, but that was about it. Most wouldn't even consider him their friend.

Realizing that the phone was still ringing, he quickly picked up. "Hello?" he said on instinct, though his thoughts were elsewhere. Rush wasn't just a plane to abandon someone, or anyone, and just cut off contact for no reason. He wasn't programmed that way, anyways. Even though he _was_ a fighter plane, he'd been designed to be more than that; in a way, he was to be a form of therapy to the newly-converted Jolly Wrenches… until they were shot down. He'd made the mistake of thinking that Rush had been destroyed, as well. "Rush? You there?" he asked.

A voice came through the other end. Streak's. "Felix!" it was filled with an urgency impossible to miss. There was silence for a moment, then Streak blubbered out everything that had happened -from Rush acting strangely to the hospital visit to the last moments he'd had with his friend only a few hours ago. "...and you need to fix him," he ended, almost in hysterics.

Felix had done his best to listen, but narrowing all the information down to the gist, he realized that Rush had basically died… he felt like he should be crying or something, but at the same time he couldn't feel any emotion… that happened a lot. Pushing the thought away, he tried to figure out what to say. It was difficult. He couldn't just fix a total system shutdown like Streak had described. Especially if it had to do with other errors occurring, which from the sound of it, it was. He sighed, "Streak… I don't know what to tell you. From what it sounds like, Rush shut down… and I don't know how to reverse something like that. When systems fail, they fail… even if it was just one or two things that caused it. He may have just wore himself out." But then he started thinking about it. One or two systems failing? With a computer, they could be replaced… or even all of them, if that was the case. So long as the files and basic programming remained intact, anyways.

In the short break Felix had stopped talking, Streak blurted, "Please just come over and at least look!" The dragon seemed to be blubbering now, beyond control… hoping, praying that somehow, someway it'd be alright.

"Okay, okay. I'm heading up there right now," he replied, pulling up a map at the same time… he wasn't too far off, he didn't think. Which was a good thing at this point. "It could be a couple hours, though."

Streak couldn't calm down, however, and nodded, not quite realizing that Felix couldn't _see_ him. "I… I'll see you then." He hung up, staring at the phone he'd set down, then shifting his eyes to the Corsair's cold hull across the room, wishing Felix to hurry.


	3. Chapter 3

It'd only taken an hour and fifteen minutes for Felix to make the drive to Propwash… partially because the highways were pretty clear and he took the opportunity to speed. As it was whenever there wasn't a big event in town, it was rather quiet, a few residents on the road but not many. Making his way to Rush's hangar, he realized how desperate of a situation it was. Unlike the clatters and joyful playing that was present when he visited here the first time, it was somber and quiet, though he thought he could hear sniffling coming from inside.

What greeted him was the limp form of a dragon, draped over the still hull of a Corsair. Streak lifted his eyes to Felix, sudden hope flashing through them. Neko was resting on his head and scampered over to the car, instantly climbing up and curling up miserably on Felix's hood. Streak was not quite as fast to move and was hesitant to leave Rush for even a second. "You think you can fix him?" he said in a voice soft and worried, very different from his usual, booming bellow.

"I don't know," Felix replied, "I was thinking about it on the way over here, and there might be a way. I need to know something, though. Before he shut down, did you see any signs of him glitching? It would have probably showed up in his eyes… like a hologram when it gets disrupted and it fragments."

"Not…" Streak hesitated, "not until the end." Lowering his eyes to the floor for a second, he added, "But there were times he wasn't himself. Like… like…" he tried to put it into words. "Like _he_ wasn't there. Like he was just a machine without feeling." He looked to Neko and the dragon chirped something. "Neko said he didn't hear any thoughts from Rush in these moments, which is strange lately… because he's been able to read his mind for at least three months now."

"But couldn't Neko only read the mind of a hu-?" he paused mid-sentence, realizing that Rush's sentience must've taken a step further than what should've been considered possible. Running his own scan on the seemingly lifeless plane, he realized that other than his computer systems being fairly overheated still, there wasn't too much damage to them… all the problems were in the support systems. "From what I'm getting, Rush himself is still okay… like he's in a stasis. It was just everything else that failed."

Streak's heart leapt, but he still had one question. "Can you fix him, though?"

"It's never been done before… but I can try." He didn't know what else to say… he didn't want to get Streak's hopes up if the situation had no hope to begin with… but the more he looked at the results from the scan, the more he began to think that maybe Rush _could_ be fixed.

The dragon, however, was convinced. Whatever Felix had done to put in place a perspective, it was ruined. "Then let's get to it!" He wanted Rush back and he wanted Rush back _now._ Or, at least, he wanted Rush back as soon as possible. If Streak knew what he was doing, he possibly would have started then and there, but instead he sat down, looking confused and frazzled. "...but how?"

"That's just it. Most of his life-support systems ended up failing… and they don't make Corsairs anymore," Felix said, partially thinking aloud, but also realizing what would probably have to be done. "I think we might have to rebuild him from as close to scratch as we can."

"You mean…" he had a hard time processing what Felix was saying. "...but how? He's there… how could we possibly be able to rebuild him without severing what makes him… well, him?" The dragon shook his head, unable to fathom seeing Rush in the form of anything but a Corsair.

"His internal computer is still relatively alright, and that's what makes him him. Everything else can be replaced, and he'd still be himself, as long as his internal computer is the same," he tried explaining, but the more he started thinking about it, the more he realized it would be a lot like how converting humans was… he didn't know if he liked that thought, but it also meant that Rush could live.

Streak mulled over it for a minute. "But if anything went wrong in rebuilding him," he mused, "we'd lose him for good." He had to admit, with that prospect in his mind he almost didn't want to do it. There was something comforting about knowing that Rush was still in there, even if he wasn't… with them, in a way. Shoving the selfish thought aside, he swallowed. "It's the only way we can revive him?"

"Unless there's enough Corsair parts left out there to rebuild him that way, yes." Already he was trying to think of what they could use for what seemed like such a daunting proposition… he had to wonder if Rush's computer would be able to adjust to such a big change. He couldn't risk reprogramming too much in that respect because they might lose him for good.

"We should look into that option first," Streak said. However, there was a deeper dread in his thoughts. Would Rush really want this? They were, after all, essentially bringing him back from the dead in a way… but at the same time… Streak shook his head. His selfishness got a hold of him. _I couldn't live without Rush,_ he told himself, _Well, not in this world…_ "What…" he tried to form his thoughts into words, "What kind of plane would we make him be if it didn't work though?" He was trying to think of what Rush would want, but the answer eluded him.

"The closest thing I can think of might be an F-18," Felix concluded, half-distracted in his own thoughts, "They're everywhere, and last I heard anything about them, it was that they don't die or malfunction very easily. That way we wouldn't have this problem again… soon, anyways."

"Oh." Streak shifted, appalled that he was even thinking about morals in this situation. "I don't think that… uh…" he could hardly finish his sentence, "Rush would want to be a fighter again…"

"There might not be a choice… I don't want to reprogram anything unless I have to, and if he's anything too different from what he is now, he might not be able to move," Felix tried to explain, but the problem ran a bit deeper than that. Even though he didn't express it, Rush was still a fighter… it was in his coding, buried as it was, but it was still there.

Streak was slightly disappointed with Felix's answer, but took it just the same. He thought back to the words Rush often used when recollecting on Glendalcanal. There were days he'd raved about how if only he hadn't the means to kill… he'd never have done so, and never could think about it. There had been several situations, after all, where he'd been forced into events that there was no choice but violence, and the thought of the killings he'd made wounded him more than even the deaths of his squadronmates. "That makes sense," he agreed meekly, then switched the subject, "How do we go about looking for Corsair parts for plan A?"

"Step one: the internet," Felix said, a hologram lighting up in front of him as he mentioned it; upon searching for a minute, however, there wasn't much to find. And the parts he _did_ find weren't components to the support systems Rush needed. After a minute, he gave up… perhaps the internet wasn't such a wonderful idea. "Nevermind. Maybe you could go ask… oh, I don't remember her name. Dottie?"

"Yep, that'd be Dottie!" Streak said, walking towards the door. He turned back to where Rush's body lay. It was just a shell, Streak told himself, a shell that held who Rush was. Now it was nothing more than a placeholder. It was morbid, Streak admitted, but it was true. "You'd better come with me… you know, to explain, or else she'd… erm…" He was going to say she'd spam him with questions he couldn't answer, but she'd also investigate otherwise. If she did, he feared she'd take Rush away to be buried. That was the last thing that should happen at the moment.

Felix didn't necessarily _want_ to go with, but he understood what Streak was getting at. At least he's proven himself capable at fixing vehicles to her… even if the last time they had an encounter she got rather annoyed at him. "...I probably should, shouldn't I?" he replied, pulling out of the hangar and making sure the door was shut after Streak exited behind him.

Streak nodded briskly. As the two made their way towards the Fill N' Fly, Streak contemplated further on the thought of bringing Rush back. Magic in his world could reverse even death if the dragon was skilled enough, but it was rare and required sacrifices most dragons weren't willing to take. In a way, instinct told Streak to take caution as he walked this narrow path between life and death for Rush… and yet he had to tell himself that Rush himself wasn't really dead. More like in a coma. Shaking himself as if ridding water from his scales, he shook the thoughts away. They'd arrived.

Dottie'd kept the door to the Fill N' Fly open; upon seeing Streak, she quickly put down the clock she was working on (that never, ever stayed fixed no matter how many times she tried) and went over to him, then seeing that Felix was with him… she remembered the car, but not extremely well. "What's wrong?" she asked, knowing all too well already that something was very likely wrong. "Is Rush okay?"

Streak pawed at the ground with one claw, trying to think of a way to say what he was about to without making it sound alarming. "Felix is, well, doing some diagnostics on him and realized he needed a lot more new parts than we first expected…" he lied, "...so we were wondering if you could help us retrieve the ones we needed?" The whole lie sounded more like a question than anything, and Streak hoped and prayed that Felix could make it sound more convincing… that is, if Dottie asked questions.

Dottie narrowed her eyes, "I hate to say it again, but the hospital gave him a terminal diagnosis…" The softer words were more aimed at Streak, but something didn't add up. And she was going to figure out what it was.

"You don't understand," Streak said, lashing his tail back in forth in what he hoped looked like a display of defiance, "Felix is Rush's _creator_ … he can fix him. He knows Rush like… like… like the back of his hood!"

"Of course I know him!" Felix interjected, "And we don't have a lot of time before…" he lied, building off of Streak's story as best as he could, "something bad happens."

It still sounded pretty fishy. Streak was acting weird, but Dottie almost wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt because of everything happening. Stress could make people act oddly for sure. "And what have we missed that could somehow save him?" she asked, looking Felix dead in the eye and trying to spot any sort of a lie. But then again, she may have just caught them in one. " _Everything_ was failing… you know… maybe I should go back with you to check on him," she decided, figuring that if there was a lie, she'd catch them in it right then.

Streak glanced at Felix. If they denied her the opportunity, it would spell it out that they were lying… but if they showed her… Dottie might be less understanding when it came to bringing Rush back from the dead. Either way, the secret would get out to her… and it'd be less likely she'd turn on them if they gave information willingly. Streak looked to his talons, his eyes rolling downwards. "Alright," he said, hoping with all his might she would not turn their plans against them.

Felix looked back at Streak, trying not to believe what he just heard... it'd be impossible to cover for anything if Dottie saw Rush in the state he was in.

"Great," Dottie replied, taking Felix's lack of words as an agreement to what Streak had said, "I'm sure he wouldn't mind the company," she added, leaving the hangar and expecting the other two to follow.

Streak hurried to catch up with her, wanting to prepare her for the sight she'd see. Rush was dead… sort of, at least, and although he doubted she'd recoil at the sight of a body, it was still a shock he was sure. "We have to warn you," Streak started shakily, "he's not in good shape."

"I know, Streak. It's okay," Dottie replied, though the way Streak was talking sounded like Rush was a _lot_ worse than when she'd last seen him. But then again, she'd already seen just about everything, so this shouldn't be too bad. Of course, that was her train of thought until she arrived at the hangar and opened the door. She tried to suppress a look of shock, but she couldn't. Rush was dead and they wanted to try and rebuild him. "No. Not okay. What were you guys planning on doing?"

Felix pulled in front of both Dottie and Streak, "It's not as bad as it looks," he said rather lamely, "I was running a couple scans and he's in a coma-like state."

"...I know you guys' hearts are in the right place, but you need to think about what's best for Rush… he's not going to last much longer. If he's not gone already," she said, not exactly sure what to think. Though she was pretty sure that Rush probably wasn't alive anymore.

"Just hear us out," Streak asked, then desperately added, "Please."

"I'm listening," Dottie replied, "But that doesn't make the idea any less ridiculous."

"When I ran that scan, I saw that his computer systems were just a little overheated… they're not failing like everything else is," Felix started, "So if we rebuild the rest of him, his computer would be able to function again."

"He's in there, Dottie," Streak said, staring at her intensely, "He's trapped: neither alive nor dead. Whether we fail or succeed in rebuilding him, he'd be better off one or the other than like he is. We just have to get him out."

Dottie didn't know what to say… everything in her being told her it was wrong, but at the same time she just didn't know. If something went wrong… it could mean more pain for Rush in the long run. But it could also extend his life. "For what you're talking about… you're going to need a lot more than just spare parts," she finally said, giving in to the argument.

The tension in Streak's neck and shoulders released and a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding escaped his lips. "But that's why we came to you… you have access to parts. We know, we know," Streak said when she gave him a look, "We probably can't get the parts we need. But that's… only plan A."

"Plan B is basically converting him to something like an F-18 or something similar," Felix finished, somewhat surprised that Dottie wasn't trying to shut the whole operation down to begin with.

"That might work out a little better," Dottie replied, but she was also somewhat concerned about the idea. She had no idea why she was even listening to them in the first place -the very plan was absurd! "And I might know someone who would be able to help you with getting a hold of one," she continued, hoping that that would be all they would need… she honestly, for once, didn't want to get involved.

"Wonderful!" Streak said, making a bit of a roaring sound. He was excited to get Rush back up and running, especially after the truth of his own words had sunk in. Rush really was trapped between two extremes… at the thought, Streak found it horrible. He couldn't move onto death, but he couldn't grasp at life either. The dragon shuddered at the thought. "So… who is he and how can we get a hold of him?"

Felix still couldn't believe what he was hearing… of all people, Dottie was helping them. Or rather, she was helping Streak. And he wasn't about to mess it up by talking any more than he had to.

"I could call her on the radio back at the Fill N' Fly, but you two are going to ask her about it. It's your idea, after all," Dottie replied.

"Deal," Streak almost sang. "Just lead the way!" Yet again he felt he didn't want to leave Rush, but ignored the calling as he followed Dottie back to the Fill N' Fly.


	4. Chapter 4

Dottie was already beginning to wonder if she'd made the right choice, but as she said, she led the dragon and the car back to the Fill N' Fly… and she couldn't quite remember the radio signal of the person she had in mind. As soon as they reached the place, both Felix and Streak seemed eager to get a hold of this mysterious dealer. Perhaps the one thought that rang in both their heads was how this vehicle got a hold of unused aircraft.

Either way, Streak didn't care. "So what's this car's signal, eh?" he asked, rapping his talons absentmindedly against Dottie's radio.

"That's the problem… I misplaced it, I thin- oh! Here it is!" she said quickly, grabbing a slip of paper from a table and putting it by the radio for Streak. "She's one of the best parts dealers I know, and she's good with… odd… requests, too," she added.

"Thank you, Dottie. You're a lifesaver," Felix added, not realizing that it was quite literal in Dottie's case until he'd already said it.

"Why do you think I do what I do?" she replied, not missing a beat and going back over to the clock on her workbench, trying to figure out why it wouldn't tick for more than just a few seconds. It truly was frustrating, but it was a good thing to work on to take her mind off things.

Streak looked at the slip of paper, turning it over in his claws and examining it carefully. It was more a reason to stall. Part of him feared that Rush would not want to be brought back, but a longing to have his friend there pushed the thought away. "You should do it, Felix. I wouldn't know what to ask of this person," he said, placing the slip so that Felix could see.

He paused for a second, not quite sure what to ask, either, but he quickly snapped out of it. He still didn't like radios, though. He tuned the radio to the correct signal anyways, trying to remember the language normally used when making a call like this. "Er… this is Propwash calling. Is anyone there?"

There was a second of silence on the other end. A slightly gravelly female voice picked up on the other end. She sounded serious. "May I please have an identification?"

"This is Felix Shiftwell. I got a reference from Dottie that you'd be able to help us with what we need."

"It's okay," Dottie said, going back over to the radio for a second, "They're just looking for some odd parts."

"Well… we might need a bit more than that," Felix corrected slightly, "We were looking for an unused aircraft."

"I can do that for ya," she agreed, "Any friend of Dottie's is a friend of mine. But you'll have to come down and look at my specimens yourself. I ain't flyin' them to ya… too risky, and nearly impossible with the security They've been crackin' down on."

"Where are you located?" he replied, just happy that Dottie really was right about this dealer… last he knew, the only way to get unused aircraft was directly from a manufacturer. "It might take a bit, but we'll go."

"Can't say, but she knows," the voice on the other end responded. "Like I said: they're crackin' down on security. A gal can't give up her secrets so easily."

He understood… They were likely able to listen in on the call without either of them even knowing. "Alright, I'll ask after we disconnect," he said, "We'll get there, though."

"Just be fast about it," the voice said quickly, "I can't hang around too long."

"Okay, that's fine," he replied, "We'll see you soon, then."


	5. Chapter 5

They drove (or rather, Felix drove while Streak flew) to a small town seemingly in the middle of nowhere. This region of South Dakota was exceptionally desolate and it was surprising any town thrived here at all. For an Earth once bustling and filled to the brim, this place seemed untouched by human hands. Dottie had given them directions to this town shortly after they'd hung up, as well as some vague information on the car they were visiting.

Pulling up to the coordinates given to them, there seemed to be nothing. The land continued to go on and on, and yet this was where she'd lead them. "You think she gave us the wrong points?" Streak asked, pawing at the ground and looking to Felix.

Looking around, he almost had to agree with Streak, "Maybe she reversed the points or something… I don't know." But then again, there was an inkling in the back of his mind that Dottie had indeed given them the correct coordinates. Anyone that was able to avoid Them like this car was apparently able to had to be really good at hiding.

"So you must be Felix," a voice behind them said. Streak swiveled around to face a truck -seemingly Dodge- only a few feet away. "You're a lot faster than a lot of my other customers, although I can see why." Streak narrowed his eyes on her, wondering where on earth she'd come from. Her southern accent she'd portrayed on the phone was long gone and replaced by something much more exotic but worn away by time, it seemed. She seemed unphased by the sight of the dragon, only chuckling to herself in response. "Come on, before radar or something spots us." She turned and drove back to where she'd come from… and into nothingness.

Streak cast a sidelong glance at Felix before following. There was a moment's hesitation in the field before letting him through. What lay inside the field was a large hanger of sorts, concealed by whatever it was hiding the place. "Alien technology," the truck answered simply, "it's difficult to explain." Turning back around towards the other two, she cocked her head a bit, "How do you like it? I mean, besides the fact it's different and strange."

Felix couldn't even believe it. It was an invisible… hangar. And from the sound of it, it was completely undetectable by radar. How in any world did this exist? And aliens? Those didn't exist, either. There were stories that were passed down from easily a thousand years ago, but everyone knew they weren't true. Looking back to where they came from, it didn't seem like anything was different… but just a couple feet back and the hangar was invisible. He tried not to question… but it was really, really hard not to. "It's… I don't know. Impossible?"

"Oh please," she said, waving a tire, "it's all simple Federation technology. I'm surprised They haven't figured out how to break it already… although I have a feeling they're getting close. That's why I have to up and leave. Hopefully I can improve this old thing while I'm on my way. Also, feel free to think questions. I'm open to answering them all in here… secrets are for out there, but once you're in here you're more free than a bird to do and say what you like." She seemed to continue on without stopping, "But before you bombard me with questions, you probably want to see what I have to offer? I'm willing to give these old planes away for free, now that I'm moving out of this place. I can't have them sitting here under this hologram waiting to be discovered… they're far too special."

Feel free to _think_ questions? What? Felix was so confused, but he tried to hold off on the questions for now. His thoughts were interrupted by her voice… again. "I forget to tell some of my new customers," she babbled, "I can read minds as plain as you can read a book or listen to a lecture. It's a relatively normal, or rather, usual trait of my species."

He tried to censor his thoughts from then on, but it was too difficult… there were too many questions. Not to mention that he was apparently communicating with an alien. That could read minds. He tried to change the subject, "Sorry, but could we see the planes now? It's kind of urgent," he said, trying to allow himself a bit of time to process all the weirdness that had just happened… although he wasn't sure he really _could_ understand it all.

"To a certain degree," she agreed, "because Rush can wait as long as he must. That programming isn't going anywhere." She lead them to another section of the hangar, where four warbirds were waiting. Upon first glance, they looked relatively normal, but when you looked closer…. "They're fit for space," she admitted, "a little project of mine I've been working on. If someone could just get a hold of the Federation this whole planet could be saved from its oppression… unfortunately I can't tamper with them any further without more parts… parts I could just as easily make a profit on." She sighed, "They've been trying to find me for longer than I can even remember because I know everything from Then. I might be one of the only of my kind on Earth left. You Humans can't even comprehend how many 'ailens' to this planet are converted out there, tricked into thinking that they too are human." She shook her head sadly. "I know that you two could easily downgrade these planes back to their standards, if you needed to. I doubt your friend is going to take any space flights, anyway. Still, it was nice knowing that there was once hope of reaching beyond Earth for help."

"Wait… how'd you know about… nevermind," Felix said quickly, still confused and only becoming even more so as the truck continued to talk. Everything she was saying was just fairy tales, but at the same time, the planes she had DID look like they could survive in space. "In all honesty, I don't understand most of what you just said," he finally admitted, somewhat embarrassed, "if the planes are fit for space already, though, then I don't see why we should downgrade them." If anything, he was more curious as to how they worked. And he had to wonder if Rush's programming would be able to acknowledge it. That was the important part. Although… once Rush was conscious again, he might be able to tweak the programming enough where it would work regardless. He tried not to think about it, but he couldn't help it… Rush still really was an experiment to him.

"That's the spirit!" she responded to his thought almost faster than he finished it. "Although your friend here, Streak, is at the exact opposite end of the spectrum. He thinks of Rush as a being, almost so much so he thinks of Rush as a dragon…" she trailed off, "You are an interesting creature. I don't recall anyone discovering dragons back in the day before the Revolution."

Streak instantly was reminded about how he got there. He tried to hold the thoughts back from her, but it was impossible.

"Ah, so that's how you got here. Wormholes are real," she babbled, "and common, especially in deep space. Or, deep space in relativity to Earth. Anyway, I'm curious to know how you two are going to get one of these things," she motioned towards the four aircraft, "out of here without alarming Them. I can cloak them to look like regular planes, but they lack an ID according to any records known to the government. That might raise a red flag… unless.." she tapped a tire absentmindedly against the ground, "...unless you registered them with Them. It might be a good cover. And besides, you used to work for Them, I know, so chances are They'll be willing to allow you to prolong the life of one of Their own experiments."

She glanced at him, almost startled at the thoughts Felix was thinking. "...you doubt he is even able to be controlled anyway? Interesting… The only AI I've ever heard of who was even close to that point was an android… but he's dead now and I'm not sure if the Federation has continued to expand on their Artificial Intelligence."

Felix was really, really trying not to think of anything anymore… it was clear that if he did, the truck would bring it up and just remind him of it more. He tried to stay on topic, "Registering them shouldn't be much of an issue… so long as they were reported as normal. And even then They've sent out inspectors before to check to make sure it's true," he said, though he knew for sure They probably would make sure that Felix was telling the truth… he had a tendency to get caught lying in that respect… They didn't even know about Rush until he was almost complete, and that was only the tip of the iceberg.

"But they praised you for your invention," she reminded as he subconsciously replayed events before and after he'd built Rush in his head. "Project 36 was a huge help to Them… more than I think you realize, if your memories aren't tainted with time." She shook her hood violently a few times, as if overwhelmed, then almost squeaked. "You have to go. I'm sorry, but I don't have any way to protect myself from others' thoughts. I forgot how to, thanks to Them… but really, you must be going as soon as you can. Take your pick of the craft and leave!"

"Sorry," he said almost sheepishly, looking back to the planes she had to offer. All of them looked to be modern war planes for the most part. "Any of them would work, or at least I could make them work," he said quickly, but at the same time gears were turning in the back of his mind; he hadn't done much of anything with AI for years… and since the planes _were_ free, maybe he could start on another project… after Rush, of course. Programming a space plane would make for an interesting challenge, though.

"If you do that, you _must_ get a hold of the Federation," the truck whispered quickly. "It may be a way to stop Them dead in their tracks."

"What even IS the Federation? You keep talking about it like I should know."

"The United Federation of Planets," she said simply, "is an alliance of sorts. A galactic alliance, in fact…" she seemed less focused than ever… even less so than in her rambling state earlier. "Your thoughts are too loud," she groaned, but then continued, "They quarantined Earth when it was just beginning to recover from the Fleeing, as we liked to call it. I have a feeling someone higher up manipulated it for Their help. The actual Epidemic was simply a spark of luck… but if you can notify them of our current state… there's hope."

Felix tried to quiet his thoughts, but at the same time he didn't have much control over them anymore… he knew They were manipulative, but not that much… if there was a whole society of beings out in space that was specifically avoiding Earth because of everything that happened, he was guessing that it would be worth a shot. "I suppose we'll take two of them, then," he finally said, already trying to figure out parts of the programming to the second plane… but he stopped himself. Already he was apparently overloading the truck, and thinking about that would probably make it worse.

"You're darn right it would," she nodded, "and take these two craft and get out of here. I hate to be a stick in the mud, and so rude like that… but…" she closed her eyes and flinched as if in pain. "I don't think I can take much more of your screaming minds without going insane!"

Streak, who'd been gawking, listening, and questioning in his head, suddenly up and ran towards one of the F-18s. They were both smaller than the regular, which allowed Streak the strength to push one of them a bit. "Felix?" he asked, "How are we going to get these things home?"

He paused for a second, but then realized something. "We could ask Them for help if we had to… if we got them away from this place, then maybe I could report them as being abandoned and request to have them moved back to Propwash as projects," he said, somewhat thinking aloud and trying to stay focused to avoid thinking too much more than he had to.

"If They're on your side -and I think they are- that is an exhilarating idea," the truck agreed, then narrowed her eyes, "but no mention of me, the Federation, or the modifications done to these planes." With that, a thought seemed to came to her mind and she zipped across the room to come back with something hooked to her wheel. She tossed it at one of the aircraft and it pinged against its nose, sticking like a magnet. The appearance changed slightly to seem more standard.

"Old holodeck technology," she stated as if pleased with herself, "quite the tech, ain't it? Acts as a hard hologram… so long as you don't find the projector, not even the best mechanic wouldn't be able to tell the difference without tearing it apart. I've got a few stashed… so if you need two, I'd be happy to lend them to you."

"That'd be perfect," Felix replied, "Because otherwise They might _actually_ try to tear them apart. And I won't mention anything of where they came from, I swear," he reassured her, fascinated with how the 'holodeck' technology worked, but trying not to pick it apart and analyze it for the sake of the truck. "Sorry I thought too much… but thank you for these planes. I don't know how I could've helped Rush otherwise."

"It wasn't just you," she said quickly. "But just to let you know, you'd definitely have found a way without me. Whether or not these pass inspection, you'll get through."

Felix didn't know whether to believe the comment or not, but he considered analyzing it later just because. "Either way, you made this a lot easier than what it could've been," he said, looking back to the planes… the only issue was getting them far enough away from the hangar so nothing would look suspicious on radar. But then again, it couldn't be too bad.

"I do what I can to help," she shrugged. It was obvious she was agitated at this point. "Let me know if I need to assist you further, but until then I have to reorganize some stock that's out of place."

"No, no… that's fine. I think we'll manage," Felix said quickly, becoming as eager to get away from the truck as she already was to get away from him. He knew there was a remedy to his thoughts running wild… but he didn't dare let it take over until they were away from the place. The AI in him could lead Them exactly where They wanted to be if he used it… and he already promised he wouldn't compromise the relative safety of the truck's hangar.


	6. Chapter 6

With Streak pushing one plane and Felix half pushing, half pulling another (he had his methods; since he liked to be in secret most of the time, he had to move his creations by himself while working on them. Even though he still ended up getting tire marks on him and the occasional dent more often than not. That, and he didn't want to admit that he was a vehicle that wasn't supposed to tow things), they exited the seemingly impossible building with more questions than ever… well, Felix did. He wanted to know everything possible about the so-called Federation and what was going on with Them… he never trusted the government, of course, but from what he'd just experienced They had apparently committed even more despicable acts and hidden them from the public.

Once they were a reasonable distance away from the invisible hangar, Felix contacted a representative of Them he used to work with, hoping for the best. Within minutes of explaining his version of the situation, he got the approval on the assistance they needed. The strange truck was right… They weren't against him, apparently. But now it was him that was against Them… if this Federation stuff was true, anyways.

Before that said assistance arrived, Felix realized that They would probably question the presence of Streak… perhaps even attempt capturing him. For good measure and with slight objection, he sent the dragon back to Propwash ahead of time, just in case.

Staying close to the planes, albeit alone with his thoughts for a few hours, he began to wonder how exactly They were going to help transport the planes… they were in the middle of a field, and a larger transport plane needed landing space that was… well, a runway. The roaring of engines slowly began making its way through the sky, but it wasn't until it was right above him that he realized it was VTOL. The only logical conclusion to a predicament such as his… but from the looks of how massive the aircraft was, Felix could also probably get a ride back to Propwash.

After it landed, Felix was eventually greeted by few forklifts, none of whom he knew very well… but apparently they knew of him.

"Finally ready to go back to designing more projects?" one of them asked casually, making sure the others were being mindful of the two F-18s, "We've hit a wall in advancement… no one's even come close to producing something like how Project 36 turned out."

"That's the problem," he replied quickly, "I'm keeping both planes, but Rush terminated himself. He wore out… nothing anyone could have done at the time."

"Rush?"

"Project 36. His nickname."

"Oh."

"Anyhow… his internal core is fine. But I've been needing another plane just because I can't get enough Corsair parts to fix him that way."

"There's probably parts out there, and I bet there are some in the vault… you're sure you want to risk it?"

"Call it another experiment of mine. It'll be better off for him in the long run if it's successful."

"And what about the other one?"

"Call it Project Firefly," he said simply, realizing how much power he really _did_ have with Them. "It's staying in Propwash as well, so I can work on it and continue to monitor Rush at the same time. And I'm requesting total privacy with its programming until I deem it fit for presentation."

"You'll have to submit a formal request, but I'm not gonna be the one stopping you," the forklift replied, receiving the clear from the others that they would be taking off soon. "You need a lift? Largest plane in the world right here, so there's plenty of room."

Felix nodded, unable to speak over the engines, which were increasing in volume to the point where it was almost unbearable. Pulling into the craft behind the forklift, the massive doors eventually slamming shut, Felix didn't know what to think. What side _was_ he on?


	7. Chapter 7

It took a few hours, but eventually Felix felt the plane slowing down and eventually come to a stop, hovering in midair; the engines roared to a deafening point as they neared the ground, eventually touching down softly; as per his request, the planes were not inspected very thoroughly on the account that he "preferred that he work on them on his own." None of the forklifts or other assistants were questioning much simply because he was already considered rather odd in nature, according to his record with Them.

Once the doors opened, Felix quickly exited, rather glad he was on the ground again even if he didn't necessarily mind flying. That, and he wanted to ensure that the local dragons of the area were away from the area; the last thing he wanted at the time was Streak or his friends being captured for some reason. The sound of a few planes buzzed overhood, likely the racers of the town trying to figure out what the huge buslike thing was doing on the tarmac. Or perhaps trying to figure out if they could land or not. Driving over to Rush's hangar, he pushed the door open slightly just to make sure no one had tried to move him. Luckily for him, they hadn't. Everything seemed to be going his way for once.

"Excuse me?" someone asked from behind the Jaguar, causing him to startle slightly, but he turned around anyways. It was the lead forklift again. "Sorry, but where do you want these planes?"

He paused, looking back in Rush's hangar. There would barely be enough room for one, which was all he needed for now; once he reactivated him, he could work on the other project. But not before… especially not for Streak's sake. The dragon really, truly depended on the plane for survival, it seemed. Not to mention that Rush wasn't supposed to terminate himself. Only a few AI planes were programmed to do that, and it was only for experimental purposes. He cut the tangent off before he looked too spaced-out. "The one I told you was for Project 36 goes in the hangar. The other one needs to be tarped off appropriately and put outside where it won't get damaged or in the way of anyone."

The forklift gave the others orders accordingly. It was odd, Felix realized, how compliant they were being… and he wasn't even an official. Were his projects _really_ that valued in the government? He didn't know, but the assistants were even careful not to disturb the still remains of Project 36; while he oversought the ordeal, he realized he had never submitted the requests he needed to to begin another project or two. He did this quickly, however, which was also rather easy; mental computers weren't always a burden, he supposed.

Once the planes were placed as Felix had instructed, the lead forklift went back over to him, trying to talk quicker than what seemed to be his normal pace, "We have to clear the runway ASAP, if not sooner… the tower got an emergency request for a flight to land and we're blocking it. I took the liberty to find some tools you could use. And the others should be unloading a few other things you might find helpful. Just contact us if you need anything," he said, nodding to Felix before rolling back into the massive plane, whose engines were already warming up by the time the doors slammed shut again and took off as quickly as possible.

It wasn't even a minute later when an orange crop duster landed roughly, obvious damage to one of his wings and white smoke coming out of his exhaust pipes, likely a sign of overexertion, from what Felix could tell from a distance, anyways. But he was sure he'd heard at least two planes circling the runway earlier, maybe three… it didn't matter at the moment, though. Rush was his business, and he was going to be until he eventually got him back up and running again.

The commotion in the background was drowned out by his own thoughts, turning back to the equipment They had left him. It was mainly just the basics, but the tools were designed for a car to use, which was a blessing in itself, as well as a simple computer system to use as a life support, in a sense. Testing the reactivity of AI before activation was always crucial, not to mention it'd be nice not having to run everything through his own processors, which would be overwhelming to say the least. Regardless, Streak would still have to do the heavy lifting and final computer installation… Felix was too short, and They didn't bother to leave a ramp or something. He chuckled quietly to himself… the strange truck that had given him the planes was right. He _did_ think too much.

And then he received a message; turning on his hologram display, he opened it quickly. It was Them responding to his request already. His oil ran cold.

" _Request approved. However, on the grounds that you have been sporadic and, recently, nonexistent with your contributions to Our advancements in artificial intelligence, We are appointing you a personal student to help achieve your groundbreaking endeavors and pass your knowledge on to the next generation. We wish you the best of luck with both of your projects."_

"Bloody government," he murmured, rolling his eyes and turning the display off, pushing the box of tools into Rush's hangar before driving off to find Streak. They had work to do before that student showed up. Whoever it was.


	8. Chapter 8

He finally reached the place where the dragon was dwelling -farther out of town than where any government officer would wander- Streak bounded over to Felix. "They're gone, right?" Neko also immediately jumped out, landing squarely on Felix's hood, chattering something unintelligible in the language of dragons.

"Yeah, They're gone… something about needing to clear the runway," he replied, trying to stay somewhat focused. He still wasn't used to Neko jumping on him for some reason. "But there's something else I need to tell you… They're sending a student out here to learn about AI, too."

"So? All we have to do is turn him -or her- to our side. It's easy. I mean, friendships and a little hospitality can go a long way." Then Streak gulped, "Can't it?"

"...it's going to depend a lot on who the student is going to be. They themselves could be AI, and if that's the case…" he paused, trying to figure out how to word what he was trying to say a little less bluntly than he originally thought. Although disassembling said student was not off the table yet. "They'd be a spy… we'd have to walk on eggshells and just hope they don't report too much back to the government."

Streak sat on his haunches, thinking for a few moments. "Then you reprogram them… right? If you created an… for lack of better terms, android that not only has sentience but also emotions… enough so that a mind reader can read his thoughts... " He glanced at Neko; it was surprising, even to Streak, that Rush's consciousness had extended that far. "Then how hard could it be to bypass failsafes and hack into programming of an AI student?"

It was true; hacking, for lack of a better term, would be fairly easy, given the right conditions. But at the same time… he didn't really know for sure if it'd be possible or not. There were some failsafes that he couldn't get into, even if he didn't want to outright admit it. "If I have to, I will, but I'll only do that as a last resort… I don't know Their technology like I used to," he said quickly, but then stopped the thought in its tracks before it could progress further. "Besides, whoever it is is already going to know what we're doing, so hopefully we shouldn't have to worry about much. They'll just have to understand that if any rumors start up about dragons living here… it might not end well for them," he decided, trying not to chuckle evilly. He had to admit that the thought in itself was rather amusing.

Streak chuckled himself. "What's the worst they could do? Throw us in a dungeon? Kill us? I've faced worse threats than those before… and besides, I don't think anyone could jump a mind reader unless it was AI. And let's not forget that nobody wants to get near this dragon's breath without risking being impaled." As if to solidify the statement, he puffed out a cloud of snow and frost.

Felix had to agree with the dragon… the memory of almost being attacked by him was still fresh in his mind, though he didn't feel the need to bring it up, nor the fact that death wasn't the worst punishment They could use on them if something went wrong. "We still have to be careful about it, though… until they're either scrap metal or they're willing to help us. Okay?"

"Cross my hearts, hope to die," Streak nodded, swiping a talon lightly over his chest in a giant X.

 _Multiple hearts? Well… you learn something new every day, I suppose,_ he thought, partially analyzing the phenomenon, but quickly forcing himself to snap out of it. "Perfect," he replied, turning back towards the town slightly. "Now let's see how much we can get done before they arrive, shall we?"

Streak nodded and immediately lept towards where Rush's body and hangar were. Calling back behind his shoulder, he asked, "So you have everything ready to begin repairs?" Without answer, his wings were spread and he was soaring across Propwash with a speed only brought by excitement and anxiousness.

Felix followed, going a bit slower because Neko was still riding on him. Of course everything was ready… if anything, he hoped that maybe they could finish fixing Rush before the student even figured out how to get to Propwash in the first place. Small towns were nice like that sometimes… easy to get lost while trying to find them. Or maybe They would find a better mentor for whoever the student was… or they could be eaten by a forest plane or something. If only _those_ weren't just legends.


	9. Chapter 9

It'd taken just a couple days before the final notification about the student came through; whoever it was was within 50 miles of the town. Felix, of course, partially dreaded this, but he and Streak continued to work anyways. Most of the problem was getting the main computer out of the new plane to make room for Rush's processors, but at the same time Felix was periodically assessing portions of Rush's programming. In theory, he wasn't disturbing his actual consciousness and not causing him any pain this way. He took the opportunity to fix some novice glitches in the coding so that the student wouldn't call him out on them, but also so hopefully Rush wouldn't terminate himself again later on. Upon receiving the notification, he saved what he was working on and turned back to Streak, who was working on something in the F-18… he hoped the dragon wasn't breaking anything. "We've probably got a little less than an hour before that student gets here," he said, trying not to sound neither devious nor worried… though he _was_ somewhat excited to know for sure if they were AI or not. "You ready?"

Streak turned from what he'd been doing, glad to have the distraction. The dragon might have picked up a few technological tricks here and there -but it was nothing compared to actually working on a plane. He had no clue what he was doing apart from what Felix told him. "I don't see why not."

"Just thought you should have a warning," he replied, "You might have to use that ice breath of yours… just to keep them from contacting the government until I can reprogram them or something." In all reality, though, he hoped that wouldn't be the case… it might be out of his scope to bypass modern security coding either way, but still. Streak had ice breath.

"Er… no." Streak disagreed, "I won't. I can't control whether my breath comes out as frost or spears of ice. If I breathed at them, well… I could kill them. It was lucky I didn't kill Rush that one time -even luckier that we didn't hit anything that held coding or memories."

He'd almost forgotten about that. "Killing them wouldn't be that bad of an option, either... but it might have to be staged," he said, almost brainstorming potential circumstances under which the student _might_ be killed if indeed they were acting as a spy. "I suppose we shouldn't jump right to that, though. Let's just be careful."

Streak glared daggers at Felix. "I am NOT helping you kill anyone!"

"If they're AI it's not technically killing! ...it's called terminating them," he replied, "And if they're a spy specifically programmed to be up to no good, then doing something like that would be kind."

The dragon bared his teeth, his cold turquoise eyes narrowing to slits. "Just because something is artificial intelligence doesn't mean they aren't a lifeform. Murdering is still murdering no matter what it's called."

Felix remembered what happened next… Streak was not a dragon to be made angry. He really, really wanted to explain how it was… but he chose not to. He'd rather live… even if reprogramming was basically the same as killing an AI in the first place. "Okay, okay. No murdering. Unless someone else's life is in danger because of them."

"Fine. That works."

At the very moment, two cars drove up -one a very standard looking Saturn and the other a model seemingly brand new. The only thing she might be called was a mutt. She appeared younger than the Saturn, and could quickly be established as the new student. Who the other car was, neither Streak nor Felix could guess.

The Saturn spoke first. "So you must be Felix? I am Neptune Johnston and this is Maristella Petric. She will be your student for the foreseeable future. I have been briefing her on everything she needs to know -rules, guidelines, etcetera. She is instructed not to interfere with any of your projects in any way, shape, or form, unless the inner workings of society laws are broken." Even as he said so, however, there was a less than professional way of speaking that was slipping through his voice, as if he were not quite who he said he was. "She will be sending her reports to me, as I was and am her former mentor. I will then be relaying information to my Superiors as I deem necessary."

"I would also like to review your projects and expectations before I leave -if that is alright with you," he continued on. "Just for precautions." Neptune only then cast a very curious look towards Streak and Neko, glancing from one than the other dragon. After a few seconds of silence, he almost blurted, "I was not expecting you to have such a fine specimen of a dragon… let alone two! In fact, I was not expecting you to be in the possession of any dragons at all. If it is not intruding, how have you come across owning them?"

Streak growled, "I'm not owned by anyone, thank you very much."

"Fascinating," Neptune responded. As for Maristella, she seemed quiet and cold, her brown eyes flitting between the three new souls she was meeting. Contemplative, sly, manipulative, intelligent… and most of all haughty. There was nothing that Streak -not Neko- could pick up on her that was good.

Neko himself had begun to sift through the vehicle's mind. She was not AI, but she seemed not to be human either. It was purely scientific thoughts that went through her mind rather than emotions. On the empathic level of mindreading, she was blank. It was almost eerie.

"Er… neither of the dragons are mine. Legally, they're Rush's. Don't ask me how he got them." Felix clarified quickly, but he was also trying not to act nervous… normally it was easy for him, but he still didn't like any of his projects being open for discussion, other than their names and general goals. That, and he didn't have an official objective for Firefly yet… that wouldn't get him arrested, anyways. He had to do something, though, because if he didn't consent to someone else looking over what he was doing, then he'd get in trouble. A lot of trouble. "Reviewing projects and such is fine… I'm mostly just trying to get Rush up and running again at the moment. Project Firefly doesn't have much paperwork on it yet," he admitted, almost sheepish. Normally he had everything organized beforehand. And now he'd just made a horrible first impression as a teacher. Lovely. "I try to only work on one at a time so I don't get coding and such confused."

"That certainly makes sense," Neptune nodded. "If you have nothing new or current to show me, then I respect that. We only poke around in others' business when we absolutely have to… and right now, I must admit, it is only to satisfy my own curiosity." Then he seemed to act as if he'd stepped out of line and beyond the boundaries They had set for him. "Of course, I better be going. The sooner I'm out of here, the sooner you will be able to get to work and train your young Padawan." He grinned a bit but didn't expect Felix to understand or pick up on the obvious reference to the old 21st century movies. The glimmer in Streak's eyes, however, told him that it was not completely left without notice, however.

The ploy worked, though. "That's different. Apologies, but I don't like having to be formal with projects… reports can be damaging sometimes and I haven't had time to prepare for something like that." He kept an eye on Maristella, though… the car was watching his every move and it was becoming rather disconcerting. He tried to include her in his discussion, but it was difficult. Was she AI? He didn't know, and he didn't want to risk scanning her right away. "Streak contacted me a couple weeks ago about Rush, and I've been trying to restore him ever since. Seemed to be a combination of coding syntax and just plain wearing himself out."

"Project 36 was rushed towards the end of its construction, perhaps there were kinks that came back to bite both you and it in the rudder later on?" Neptune personally didn't like referring the vehicle as an 'it', but in order to keep his professional take on it, it had to be done. "Anyhow, I'll leave you to do your work. Maristella, Felix," then he nodded towards the dragons as well, "I'll see you later, hopefully not due to Maristella's error." He shot a glance at the student, who only glared in response. "I wish you luck." Without any further words, he drove off, leaving the small group without looking back.

"I don't like him," Streak murmured to Felix. He was about to add that he didn't trust the new student, but he thought it better left unsaid.

"I know," Felix replied quickly, almost about to add that it was just the profession… Streak didn't really like _him_ , either. Regardless, Felix now had a responsibility to finish what he'd started… if he was lucky and Maristella learned more by watching rather than doing, Rush might be up and running in the next couple days. "Alright, Maristella…" he paused, not exactly sure what to say at first. The last thing he was letting her do was editing Rush's coding… he was glad he'd finished correcting most of the initial problems. "I hate to say it, but there's not a lot you can do with this first project. Feel free to ask questions, but this coding's a bit on the delicate side," he finally said, figuring out how to sugarcoat his words a little. "And all we have left to do really is to transfer the processors themselves into that plane over there," he added, gesturing to the F-18 slightly.

She nodded, remaining as silent as cold as she had to begin with. However, for the first time she actually spoke. It was a soft voice but strict and harsh, making it seem as loud as a full on yell. "I must first let you know how much of an honor," she said the word as if it were poison, "it is to serve under you. I hear you are one of the most knowledgeable scientists on artificial lifeforms." She spoke with a slight accent, as if English were not her native language. It made questions form in Streak's mind on who she was, really. Certainly not AI… at least, not according to Neko.

The notion had caught Felix off-guard slightly. "It's what I do," he replied, "And you're not 'serving' under me… it's all going to be rather informal around here, so if anything you're just here to learn," he added, pulling up a section of Rush's coding for her to look at for a second. "Okay, now what sequence is this?" he asked, changing the subject before things got too awkward. It was actually a part he had just corrected some errors in… it was a small portion of the war directive.

She studied it for a few moments, looking at every detail and seeming to memorize it. "Standard issue war directive for all planes of your projects' status. However, given that Project 36 -that is its name, correct?- is now out of commission for military operation… why keep that bit of programming? Unless you deem him something my Superiors could use for security…" She did seem legitimately confused at this, but then she saw the machine as nothing more than that. No life, no sentience, no feelings to worry about tampering with.

"His name is Rush, for one. 36 is just his project title," Felix replied quickly, "And the problem is that these directives are a part of who he is, even if he doesn't use them anymore. This portion of the coding doesn't show it, but it's mostly inactive, so deleting it would be rather pointless. It's not hurting him. He was actually used to help the group he was put in adjust to being vehicles, so in essence he's like therapy in a fighter's fuselage. War is a secondary directive in his case. Except…" he added, pulling up another bit of coding that strongly resembled the directive, but it was different. It had a date stamp. "THIS is a memory's coding. If you render it, which I'm not going to because it's _not_ the best memory, you'd see where he was on this day in particular… and the directive was active. Since this memory is a core part of how he behaves, I can't majorly edit anything surrounding it without corrupting him as a whole."

He paused for a second, trying to glean if Maristella was understanding anything he was saying… she had the prejudice he himself still possessed sometimes. "Let me put it another way… if an AI machine is already active and operational, their memories and core functions cannot be tampered with without risking their own sanity, which is their internal logic. Unless, of course, they're legitimately dangerous to society."

Only now did Maristella understand. "You call this project a he… as if it is something truly alive. Why? It's just a machine -these memories and this quote and quote 'memory and behavior' is nothing more than programming."

"Because he established himself as male, and he _is_ alive… well, not right now, but the point still stands," he explained, realizing what Streak was trying to tell him earlier… that, or he just liked arguing too much to stay loyal to one side of an issue. "If you think about it, once humans are converted we're just programming, as well. Ever heard about editing memories of criminals? Those memories look almost exactly the same when converted into a digital form."

"But humans are…" she really didn't have an argument for her side. It was true that after conversion their whole beings could be considered programming, "But humans have a soul and free will that your machines lack -this one's no different, if you ask me."

"You don't know the first thing about Rush, do you?" Streak growled.

"Rush has had more experience with life… he can go beyond his directives, but sometimes he still has to follow them. I can't help that… but he fights them on his own. Most, if not all AI will likely end up like him in the future." Felix didn't bother mentioning that Neko could read Rush's mind… that was a story best left for another day. "But that's why reinstating him is my top priority right now. Your 'Superiors' could probably learn a lot from him."

Maristella showed the slightly signs of a smirk, "If they would then I would be happy to tell that to them. Rush may be a subject of monitoring later on, if you get it up and running once more. To my knowledge there has not been AI so perfect yet, and that could be a good or bad thing." Then she turned her eyes and bore into Felix with her gaze, "I'd be careful on the ground you're treading upon if you want your projects to stay 'free'. Any moment you could find yourself stuck in a hole and the only way to get out would be through handing over your experiments -including Rush and his two dragons."

Felix glared right back, appalled that she would even propose that his projects were his property. They weren't human, no, but they weren't really under his control, either. "And how would I do that if they suddenly went missing one day?" he asked before catching himself quickly, albeit too late. If he went any further with the argument he could get himself actually stuck in that metaphorical hole. "Besides, I don't necessarily know the whereabouts of all of them at the moment, and a few of them have already been terminated accidentally." He stopped, trying to find a way out of the corner he'd put himself in. "Point is, I don't have complete control over them. I couldn't just 'hand them over' if I didn't know where they were. That, and Streak and Neko aren't even mine!"

"In several ways, the dragons and their legal owner is. If they aren't yours, they are your responsibility. Even if they weren't, your experiments could easily end up in my Superiors' hands. I won't resort to such an act unless all else calls for it, but just know, Teacher, that I will not disappoint those above me -and I will take any measure to make sure that statement is upheld."

"Alright, I understand. You'll probably learn when you actually start building your own AI that you're probably going to get touchy about it. Which is why you're not editing any of Rush's coding. Most of that is done, anyways. You can help with Firefly, though, once we get to that," he replied, finding a compromise that might ease the other car's suspicions; he _did_ have to fulfill the role of a teacher, but he also had to make sure work was getting done. He dropped the subject. "Did you finish what I told you to earlier, Streak?" he asked, turning back to the dragon.

"Sure thing!" Streak said, saluting awkwardly and bounding towards the F-18 that would hopefully become Rush if all went smoothly. "I hope I did it right… but you might want to check over it just in case," he added uncertainly.

"You have a _dragon_ working on your project? Seems precarious," Maristella added in a rather patronizing tone.

"He's smart," Felix countered, "And he at least has something close to hands," he added before going over to the F-18 and trying to get a better viewpoint. "All you had to do was get the other processors out, so as long as it's open enough to get Rush's in the place they were, it works. From what I can see, you did it right," he said, still running his own scan on the plane, just in case. "Perfect. Do you think you can get the computers from Rush over here without damaging them?"

Streak glanced from Rush's still body to the F-18's. "I will do my best," he nodded, carefully retrieving them. He was not bipedal, but for short distances he could waddle to and from place to place. Carrying the computers from vehicle to vehicle, he set them in a position he hoped was where Felix needed them -though the dragon could honestly say he was clueless as to what he was actually doing.

"Okay, you might have to move some things, but I'm going to see if I can make it work," Felix said, pushing a small cart of tools over to the F-18. He'd checked it a couple days ago and found that the majority of connections between the processors and the fuselage were in panels underneath the cockpit, so luckily a ramp wasn't needed. "Maristella, if you want to watch what I do, you can work on the connections on the other side… though I don't know if any of this is going to be compatible to begin with," he admitted, though as he began hooking up Rush's processors to the F-18, they actually fit pretty well.

Watching and doing as Felix did, she needed nobody to tell her twice. Replicating the car's movements perfectly, she gave a slightly smug smile when it seemed she had done just as well as he. It seemed to both Neko and Streak like she was already constantly trying to one-up Felix as if she knew it all. It wasn't exactly surprising, but it was extremely annoying.

Felix didn't pay too much attention to her, though… if anything, he was glad to have an extra set of wheels at first. That, and if she already knew _so well_ as to what she was doing, he could get rid of her and still be able to work on Project Firefly in peace. Besides, the first time she made a mistake would also be the end of her arrogance, he figured. That's how it was for him, anyways… though a plane with heterochromia _did_ look pretty interesting. Finishing his part and looking over Maristella's portion quickly, he realized all that was left to do was reactivate the processors. "I think we're done," he said, turning back to Streak for a moment. "The final connection to the power source was on top, from what the schematics were saying. They should be the only two wires not connected to anything else."

There was a sudden rush of excitement that made Streak feel as if his hearts were about to pound out of his chest. "So… we'll have him back?" It was the only thing he felt he could spit out at the moment.

"If everything goes right, yes," Felix replied, "It might be difficult at first, though… he's not going to be used to being an F-18 and might be a bit disoriented." All he could think of was when he was first converted to being a car… he could hardly even stand on his own tires. Hopefully it wouldn't be _that_ bad, but it was a possibility nonetheless. It was a big enough change for it to be.

Streak began squirming in his spot. "Then let's try it… the worst that can happen is we have to rethink something, right?"

"We're not going to know how he reacts until he's reactivated, so whenever you're ready, be my guest."

The ice dragon practically flew the short distance between him and the F-18 and without hesitation, completed the circuit to allow for power. He then situated himself on its nose, tail wrapped around it for support, and stared at what would only seconds later be Rush's bright green eyes. He hoped.


	10. Chapter 10

It felt like only seconds between the full system failure and now. However, everything was wrong. Or, rather, everything was right. It was disorienting. Confusing beyond belief. An automatic systems check was in order and the data being received was said to be correct in all aspects… yet what Rush _remembered_ was correct was not. His wingspan was too long… even if only by a few inches, but not only that… the plane's eyes shot open to stare into the sea blue eyes of Streak.

"Goodmorning sleeping beauty," the dragon grinned, hugging himself tighter to Rush's nose. Everything was different… even the colors and ways he perceived the world through vision and hearing. Enhanced was the only way to put it.

"Streak?" Rush blurted, finding his voice to be the only thing correct about the situation. It was comforting, in a way, to hear himself speak… "Felix?" In the moment, with his computers running so fast and focused on so many different things at once, he hardly even recognized that the car shouldn't be here… or the surroundings of which they were in. His former body was still sitting -now nothing more than a shell- across the room, and in his confusion he hadn't even noticed the silvery skin he was in, let alone that he was now lacking a propeller.

Felix let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness that worked," he said quietly, almost in shock that Rush had taken the change so well. He chuckled a little, "You have a very loyal dragon, Rush. As soon as you'd stopped working, he got a hold of me… and here we are. Systems checks are all okay, right?"

Rush closed his eyes, allowing the last results from the full system scan to filter into his mind. "According to the readings, everything's fine…" but he sounded uncertain. "Felix… what exactly happened? These readings sound more like that of a fighter jet than a Corsair…" As he said those words, everything clicked somewhat. He glared at Felix. "You didn't, did you?"

"Yes, I did. We had to. Actually, Streak, Maristella over there and myself all played a part, but it was the only way to bring you back. You'd worn yourself out beyond fixing."

"I didn't WANT to be brought back," Rush almost roared, "Felix, vehicles who DIE are supposed to STAY dead! What were you thinking? What were you all thinking? I understand why you did this, but what purpose do I serve any of you? Nothing notable enough to prolong my existence, that's for sure." It wasn't so much that he believed the words that were spilling from his mouth, but he was so confused and disoriented that nothing made any sense. He felt like making himself shut down, or at least sleep until he could get everything sorted out, but at the same time the thousands of new thoughts and information of the change that had occurred to him overrode any output he tried to give to himself. It was simply too much for his computers to process, which was making his mind reel and anger flare.

Felix already knew not to bring anything technical up… it was already hard enough as it was and he was already noting glitches that could be attributed to the stress on Rush's processors. It'd take time, likely a lot of time, and there was no explaining anything until Rush had had at least a couple hours to understand what had just happened. "Rush, I promise you I DO know what I was thinking, you just need some rest to understand it all," he replied, though he did reverse slightly towards the hangar door just in case. It wouldn't have been the first time he needed to know an escape route.

There was a moment of hesitation from the Corsair turned F-18. "I can't…" he almost cried, "I can't figure anything out." There was a desperation in his voice as the anger broke into a befuddled mess. "Felix, nothing makes sense." He was literally crying now, and Streak clutched at the plane's nose, stroking it softly but unable to say anything comforting at the moment.

"You have to give it time… it _will_ make sense eventually, though," Felix replied, trying to say anything that could possibly help Rush… but he knew all too well that it wouldn't matter much. Once the plane's processors caught up to what was happening, it would be easier.

The plane just closed his eyes, trying to filter through everything at once. Data spiraled through his mind, not making any sense. It was just too much -so much it almost hurt. The F-18 let out a small whimper, trying to hold back full out cries as everything pounded into his databanks and memories. His whole life, now, was flashing through his mind's eye as memories reestablished themselves. They were more painful than the confusion of everything else… especially Glendalcanal. Thankfully they played at lightning pace, and to a human they would be impossible to keep up with or decipher- but even at such a great speed they felt like they crawled by like a snail.

Streak however, looked to Felix, now. "Can't we do something to help him?" he asked, feeling horrible seeing his friend in such a state.

"No. We've done everything we can up until this point, and he has to go through the reboot if anything is going to process correctly," Felix said, though he wished that he _could_ do something about it… it was just the way AI coped with things.

"But he's hurting…" Streak muttered, laying his head back down on Rush's nose. "And I don't like it…"

"It has to happen… his processors need to put everything back in order, and that includes memories," Felix explained, "I had to fix a lot of coding to make sure he didn't terminate himself again."

He didn't want to admit it, but all they could do was wait and see.


	11. Chapter 11

It'd taken another painful hour before the worst part of Rush's reactivation was over, and the plane had eventually crashed into sleep to allow for further processing. The quiet fall day was perfect for it, as well. Felix welcomed the extra time, which also let him double-check everything and run a couple secret final scans that he didn't want Maristella knowing anything about… mostly because if she knew the true schematics of the plane, she'd turn him in.

He kept pondering ways to get rid of the car for a few hours at a time, and so far the best idea he had was to send her out to observe some of the other AI aircraft that wandered around Propwash. There were plenty of things for her to do. At the moment, though, he'd told her to start getting Rush's previous form out of the hangar as discreetly as possible while shooing off any vehicle curious as to what the ruckus was about earlier. That should keep her busy enough, especially with Streak keeping an eye on her, as well.

Finishing the last of his scans, he went about other business, which basically involved getting leftover tools and other equipment cleaned up and straightening out the hangar as best as he could. Everything needed to look as normal as possible when Rush awoke to avoid confusing him more.

He'd just finished with his cleaning when he heard Rush from the other side of the room. "Felix." It was a word mixed with emotion. Both a question was posed and a statement -a statement that sounded more like scolding. Nothing else needed to be said… Rush couldn't even begin to comprehend the full value of bringing him back, but at least he could wrap his thoughts around being a jet.

"...I really do owe you an explanation," the Jaguar replied, glad that the others weren't in the room. Of course, that was the whole purpose to begin with. But then again, he didn't know where to start. "It might've been one of my crazy ideas, but it was also an error I made a while ago… you weren't supposed to die, at least not in your programming." If anything, it was probably the most difficult to admit that he'd made a mistake in such a vital program. For once, words were difficult.

Rush shook his nose, "Felix… I know that, but death isn't… it's… it's not even that you brought me back… but what are you going to tell to Propwash? What about the government? I won't -I can't- fight for them… you know as well as I that I can't risk killing or even injuring another soul. Not after…" he sighed, trailing off. "Most people would think this is morally wrong, and if I'm honest, I have to agree."

"If I have any say in it, which I do, it's that you're not fighting like that again. The government already knows about all this… I had to clear it with them, and that's why Maristella is here. She's a student. And if anything… you're going to have a different mission that'd save lives instead." He wanted to explain everything to Rush right then and there, but Felix wasn't sure whether or not the plane was going to be able to comprehend it all… much less believe him.

"And what's that?" the F-18 pressed with a very unimpressed look.

He had to place his words carefully… even though he was probably going to sound insane anyways. "You're designed for space travel now. When Streak and I picked up the plane for you, the truck we got them from said that the government has us isolated from the rest of the universe… something called the Federation exists out there with other life and just…" he paused, trying to make sense out of his argument. "She wasn't human. She could read minds like Neko does… I can't _not_ believe it. She even had some type of cloaking device on the hangar she kept the planes in… completely undetectable."

Rush stared at him for a few long seconds. "You think this 'Federation' really exists?" he asked, not completely against the prospect, but certainly not buying it either. The thing that was worrying him the most, however, was space travel. There was simply no way that he could be a spaceship… it was perhaps the most shocking thing he'd heard today, yet the easiest to process and understand. The information in his databanks had told him that he was indeed a vehicle fit for space, but until now the plane took no thought of it. "And better question is, do you think I could reach them?"

"It'd probably be better to say that there's no way it _couldn't_ exist," Felix replied… though the truth was that he still didn't completely understand it. "And no, you probably couldn't reach them… alone, anyways. That was the other thing I needed to tell you. I'm starting another project as soon as you're stable, and it's another space plane like you are. If things go right, it'll have a better grasp over travelling in space and could help you."

Rush backed up a bit instinctively, "How are you hiding this from Them? If they catch your plan through this… Maristella figure… then how are you going to escape? This 'Federation' you talk about… it could be lightyears away from here if this planet were to be something like quarantined due to the Epidemic."

"I'll find a way… besides, that's why I'm telling you this now. You can't mention any of this around her… They don't know, either. They think you and Project Firefly are both F-18s. And I'm sure you're more aware of your capabilities than I am at this point… I don't think lightyears would be that big of a problem."

"Not with warp drive, and not with a smaller version of an old fashioned M/ARA. Space travel at warp 12 is possible but even then… it would… would…" he cut himself short. These were not words he had learned from his former life, but rather brand new. He knew exactly what he was talking about, but he wasn't quite sure how.

Felix was almost surprised, but then he quickly remembered that Rush's computers would've been able to pick up all the new information within milliseconds, anyways. "You're understanding yourself already, which is good. You're adjusting. Project Firefly will help with that, too, because she'll be specifically programmed for it. That's the idea. She'll teach you everything you haven't picked up by the time you depart, and you teach her how to be a true AI machine, which you are." He paused, trying not to smirk a little. "Yes, I said she. I'm not changing my mind about it, either."

"Hmph," was Rush's response. "Only problem with using all this new information is that I don't even know how to _fly_ in this thing."

"You should be able to figure it out soon enough. For now, you should probably stay on the ground until you've had more time to adjust… and we figure out a way to explain to the rest of the town that you're not dead anymore." Felix had to admit… that _was_ going to be a problem, especially if there was any other AI that stayed in town, which he already knew from his last visit that there was.

"Maybe you should have thought about that before getting yourself in this mess, hmm?" Rush responded in a wry tone.

"Maybe, but you're alive and there's no changing that now," Felix shot back, "Besides, what's the worst that could happen? If anything, I'm the one to blame. The only vehicles that would probably actually panic would be the other AI."

The F-18 sighed, resting lower on his tires. "Especially Tera…" he muttered quietly under his breath. The plane wasn't close to him, and nor did Rush like her, but he still pitied her after Omega's death. "She'll be asking questions such as why Omega -or even her father- could not be brought back."

"If any of them have to find out the hard way, I'll make sure it happens," Felix replied, picking up on the comment. "They're all going to know sooner or later who's AI and who's not, especially since the humans are dropping off like flies. At least the older generation is," he continued, speaking almost matter-of-factly. Half the time the car didn't truly feel like he was even human anymore. "They have a right to know what's going on."

"Then we have got to get out there," Rush said, "I'd rather get this news out now before people start asking questions about my whereabouts to Streak." He rolled forwards a little, feeling rather unbalanced in his new frame. Steadying himself, he slowed down a bit. "So, are you going to allow me some freedom beyond the hangar door?"

"Depends if you can handle yourself," he said, noting how unstable Rush seemed to be. He'd have to make sure he didn't hurt himself somehow. "But the only way you're going to be able to learn to move is through experience. That, and maybe we can figure out where Maristella and Streak went and if they finished what I asked them to," he added. Although… leaving Maristella alone sounded like a tempting idea, especially if it meant that he didn't have to deal with her. But then again, that wouldn't be fair to Streak, and she was Felix's responsibility in the first place.

Rush glared at Felix, "You never did really explain who Maristella was." Rolling a little further and inching towards the door, he made sure he was properly stable before speeding up some. Transitioning to nose gear from tail gear was a very different experience. Now, instead of leaning back and allowing weight to rest on his tail he had to stay properly balanced.

"She's basically a student the government sent to learn under me… and I don't know yet, but she might be a spy. I had to get approval to fix you and build Project Firefly… but when I sent in the request to do that, They sent me her. I don't like it any more than you're probably going to, but I have to use both you and Firefly as examples of how AI should be programmed and how you function. She seems to be catching on pretty quickly, though, so maybe she won't have to stay as long," he tried explaining, but he still found it somewhat awkward. Normally his Projects were only considered experiments because of the paperwork done on them, not because they were actually being studied.

Rush made a loud harrumphing sound, obviously not pleased with the fact a government agent was in Propwash… but there was an even more pressing concern. "You showed her my programming?" he asked, hoping desperately the answer would be no. He didn't trust anyone with any information on his own coding, not even Felix completely. The fact another car might be able to simply read and change his programming made him nervous. _One of the advantages of being a regular AI vehicle, I sp'ose,_ he thought bitterly.

The car froze, immediately feeling somewhat guilty of his own actions… though he probably wouldn't have if he hadn't have been confronted. "Just a couple pieces where I had to fix a glitch or two," he said almost sheepishly before refocusing the discussion slightly, "But she didn't touch any of your coding, she's not having any final say with the other Project's, and if she tries to hijack either of you I'll make sure _she's_ reprogrammed, even if I have to do it myself. I didn't want her here to begin with, and I won't treat the situation as such."

His eyes narrowed, "If she's sent by Them, I want no part in this foolishness. No more contact between her and Streak, her and I, and especially no more allowing her to view coding which I'd rather not have shared." And then he added something else, "And don't try anything funny with your new project."

Felix couldn't help but smirk a little, "You realize that projects are meant to experiment with, right?" he asked rhetorically, before pausing for a moment, trying to figure out a solution about the student… the situation really wasn't fair to Rush or Streak. "She has to stay through when I finish it… I can't promise that she'll stay away from you and Streak, but I'll see if I can move Firefly somewhere else for now."

"Good," Rush growled. "Anyways, we had better find your 'student' before she gets into trouble." His tone was dead serious, now, and showed no hint of scorn or hate towards anything or anyone. For once.

"Right," he replied quickly, driving over to the hangar door and pushing it open a little more than it already was. Where _did_ Maristella and Streak go? He'd just given them a few things to do to keep busy, but from what it looked like they were already done. He thought. "...they couldn't get into too much trouble, could they?"

"An agent of Them and the master of gossip together? Never," Rush said sarcastically, rolling out the door.

"...you have a point," he replied, looking back to make sure that Rush was stable before he went out on the road to see if he could find any sign of where they could've gone. "But they couldn't be too far off. Is there anywhere Streak frequents?" he asked, trying to narrow down places to look… though in such a small town, it might not have been needed.

"Not that I know of," the F-18 shook his nose, wobbling somewhat on his landing gear, "He's a freelancer, and I've given up on trying to follow him every which way he goes long ago. But, he does like to frequent seeing his friends, and that often has to do with the Fill N' Fly."

"Let's start there, then."


	12. Chapter 12

Felix had to keep an eye on Rush, still somewhat worried about how unstable he was, but he ended up driving ahead of him anyways, pulling into the Fill N' Fly several hundred feet ahead of him. Sure enough, Streak and Maristella were both there, along with the mix-breed Rush had talked about earlier and a brown F-18 he hadn't seen before. He rolled over to the dragon and the car, somewhat glad it was easy enough to find them. "You two did finish everything I asked you to, right?"

It was Maristella who responded first, "Yes. All accounted for as you wished. However, this dragon decided to show me around town." Her voice remained cold and matter-of-fact. It wasn't exactly the kindest of voices.

"Yep!" Streak agreed, "I thought if she was going to be staying here a while she might as well get to know those around town. By the way, Felix, this is Otter."

"Hello," the brown plane spoke. His eyes were a milky blue, fogged over with blindness that stared off into the distance blankly. "Felix, right? The inventor?"

"I suppose you could call me that," the Jaguar replied, "Nice to meet you, Otter," he added quickly, checking his mirrors to see where Rush was… he knew he'd probably be a bit slow, but if he lost his balance or something he'd have to get help. "Sorry I'm so distracted… I'm just a bit worried about a friend," he said, noting that he probably sounded a bit weird to a blind plane.

Otter nodded however, even if he didn't understand. As soon as he heard Rush's voice, declaring that Felix didn't need to worry about him, he smiled. "Hey Rush, long time no see?"

"Long time, never see," Rush agreed. The two warplanes had developed a mutual understanding of each others' circumstances, so though the statement may have seemed rude, it was customary. Not only that, but Otter was one of the planes Rush had felt he could talk to when it came to his own worries about AI other than himself, which was surprisingly often. But then again, that was Otter's job: in counseling.

The other plane, Tera, observed for a minute, not exactly sure what to say, but when she heard Rush's voice her eyes widened in fright. "Holy tailpipes… uh, Otter… that's not Rush," she said quickly, moving back a little out of instinct. "I don't know if he's some kind of impostor or what, but that's not him."

"I could have swo-"

"Oh it's him alright," Streak agreed with Otter, walking up to Rush and patting the F-18's side. Rush glared down at his companion. "...just a little different is all." Rush himself sighed, grumbling something impossible to understand about Felix and his crazy ideas. "Felix, you explain," Streak grinned to the car, putting him on the spot.

The Jaguar paused for a second, quickly figuring out something to say, "It was just a matter of spare parts… but that's nothing to worry abou-"

"A Corsair doesn't turn into an F-18… Rush was dead," Tera said, not making any sense of the situation whatsoever. "If he's Rush, then you turned him into a… franken-plane or something."

The brown F-18 sucked in a breath, then let it out slowly. He wasn't sure he understood the situation completely, but he knew that it would be inevitable for the truth to get to Tera sooner or later. Whether or not she could comprehend the idea would be difficult. "Rush is different then most of us…" he explained, grasping at straws as to what he should say, "But not all that different from you. He's made up of computers and programming, and if he were to 'die', it would be considered simply like shutting a computer down. If he is as you say an F-18 now, then… well, it'd be like changing a monitor on a computer. The computer looks different, but is the same basic thing." He felt as if he needed to explain to Tera that she was the same way, but without being sure how she'd react in the situation at hand, he felt it best to leave that part out.

"You're not making any sense," Tera shot back, "Planes aren't computers. Computers are computers."

"Artificial intelligence, Tera, is made up of computers. Rush is AI, and so are you… and so… so am I… I think…" he tried to explain, suddenly sounding very unsure of himself. "Some of us are-"

"Enough!" Maristella's voice was sharp and clear, "Felix, this is in clear violation of the rules and regulations my Superiors taught me. If I weren't your student and you not my master, I would most certainly be inclined to turn you in here and now."

"You guys are all crazy. I don't know what the heck is going on, but you need to take all this crap somewhere else." Tera was clearly beyond confused, her eyes darting from vehicle to vehicle and not fully computing what she'd been told. Not able to form her thoughts into words, she started her engine and headed for the runway without even saying goodbye to Otter.

"Vehicles like _that_ are why I don't like that rule," Felix said, turning and glaring at Maristella, "It's not fair to them. And I'll have you know that Rush is already fully aware of what he is. It was one of the first things I ever told him. Get used to seeing the rules broken because when it comes to projects, they don't exist." He paused, hoping he'd made his point. "You and Streak need to help Rush get back to the hangar, and I need to make arrangements for you to stay somewhere. You're not allowed to tamper with anything without my permission and supervision. Try anything and I'll report it." _You play the government card, I'll fight fire with fire_.

Maristella glared as if ready to challenge him. Yet, after a few moments nodded. "Yes sir,' she nodded, tapping Streak as she passed him. The dragon immediately placed himself at Rush's side, steadying the plane as he went. It was obvious that Rush hated his position of the weakest of the group, but he tolerated it as best as he could.

"...you're Rush's creator," Otter stated, "You made him…" The plane looked contemplative for a few seconds before continuing, "Would.. would there be any way for you to…" Otter seemed suddenly very shy, "...take a look at my eyes some day and maybe… oh, never mind." The plane finished off, seeming very distraught and looking as if he'd gotten his hopes up then grounded himself again.

Felix had already been wondering why Otter was blind in the first place. He'd never seen anything like it… no pun intended. "It's perfectly alright," he replied, "I'm rather curious about it myself, to be honest. It's not a normal malfunction. I'd love to see what I could do, though… I've got other things on my plate at the moment, but I'll be around here for a while to make sure Rush is adjusting properly. Maybe in a week or two I can look at it, does that sound okay?"

"It sounds alright," Otter agreed, holding back an automatic smile. "Just let me know whenever you find the time… and… if you don't find anything you can help with to fix me… that's alright."

"Perfect. Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Otter, but I have to go check on some things. Oh, and you'd probably like to know that you're not AI. If anything, you're more human than I am… and just trust me when I say that I know the difference."

As Felix turned back, Otter was left to contemplate on what Felix had said. There was a gap in his memory he could not retrieve - a blank spot where nothingness was- and Otter felt more afraid about that than anything else of his dark world of only sound and touch.


End file.
